Travels
by Thozmp Corris
Summary: After Tarmon Gai'don, some begin to wonder, what's on the other side of the Aiel Waste? Unfortunately restoring order is first priority, but that doesn't mean that something can't come to them...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Wheel of Time series, or any affiliated works thereof.

* * *

At an elaborate palace, a banquet was being held. All were welcome to enjoy themselves, to eat, drink, dance, and offered private rooms in case dancing turned to something else. In the great hall a woman was frantically searching for someone among the crowd, and having become frustrated with here fruitless search made her way towards an exit, excusing herself from the feast and dignitaries from elsewhere.

Stepping into the courtyard she let her eyes adjust to the darkness, the celebration had been going on for sometime and showed no sign of winding down soon. The woman was tall, with red hair that was cut short and away from her youthful face. She wore what appeared to be a dark green armored vest over a dull brown shirt, with similarly colored trousers tucked into armored boots. She approached one of the guards that were patrolling the palace halls.

The guard saluted the woman as she walked toward him, "Everything is peaceful and quiet, ma'am."

The woman gave a curt nod, "Good. Now guardsman, would you happen to know where my brother is? If I must act for the nobles, I want him to be miserable right there with me."

The guards face gained a puzzled look, "Last I saw of him, he was heading this way."

"Right. Carry on." The woman scanned the courtyard looking closely at the shadows, until she saw a shape on a wall. Pulling a knife hidden in her vest she approached the wall as quietly as she could until she was ten paces from the shadow and could see that it was a person lying on the wall, one leg dangling into the courtyard. She threw the knife, which was caught by the man with apparent ease.

Sitting up, the man shifted so he was facing the young woman, making it evident that he was younger then she, if not by much, "You know, there are easier, better ways off getting my attention." He bounced the knife in his hand before tossing it at her feet.

The woman sighed, and then gave a rueful grin, "True as that is, I still prefer my ways." She casually picked up and replaced the knife in its hiding place, "The entire city is invited to the great hall for the feasting and entertainment."

"True, but they aren't here, most folks don't like nobles, I guess."

"Including yourself, brother. But as much as you dislike the nobles, you really should be in there, if only for my sake."

The young man grimaced, "Why should I, Reon? I am but a simple guide, and most of them try to kick me as I led them to the palace."

"Lot…"

"I'll go in," Lot grimaced once more, "But only if you promise me something first."

Reon sighed, "And what is it I'm promising?"

"I want to see the ocean, and I want you to promise to not try to stop me."

"Ocean?" Reon puzzled at the word, "What is that?"

Lot grinned, "It's like a lake, but bigger. It's so big it fills up the horizon, and you can't see land on the other side, you can't walk around it, you just have to sail through it."

Reon sighed, her hand already massaging her forehead, "And where did you hear about this… Ocean?"

"Shamara. One of the ware masters told me about how one of the desert folk was telling a Shamaran trader about it. And" Lot continued, forestalling his sister as she opened her mouth to argue, "One of the traders from the other side of the desert supposedly confirmed it."

"You know Shamarans lie all the time. This could be some fanciful store they cooked up."

Lot shook his head, "They shade the truth when dealing, but there was nothing at stake. Besides, I'd like to see for myself."

Reon stared at her brother in disbelief, "there will be no convincing you otherwise, is there?"

Lot chuckled, "Nope."

Reon threw up her hands in defeat, "Fine. But I'm going with you. So where is this ocean?"

Lot's grinned widened, "West. Beyond the desert, past what the desert folk call the… I think it's backbone…no…spine…yes, they call it the 'Spine of the World.'"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: It always fascinated me that no matter where the person is from, the character's in the Wheel of time series always spoke the same language, even if it was in different dialects. I always believed there had to be second language out there somewhere.

When the Maidens of the Spear first saw the strangers several odd facts occurred to them: first, they had none of the usual wetlander pack animals; second, they were traveling at night; and finally, they were coming from the east.

Of course none of these things mattered, they were outsiders, and they were neither traders nor were they of "the lost ones," which meant that they were to be stripped and sent to the spine with not but a single water skin each. One maiden, Leasin, signaled to the four other maidens to get closer and surround them.

Leasin could just barely make out the strangers, both of them; one was a woman, the other a man, both young it seemed. What really caught her attention though, was the stream of gibberish that the young man was spouting; Leasin couldn't make out any words, even though she could clearly hear everything he was saying. As the other maidens moved into position the man's rambling faltered and drifted off until he was silent; Leasin wondered if perhaps he had seen something, but from what she had been told, most wetlanders were practically blind, especially so in the dark. But the boy proved her wrong as he pulled out what looked like a sword, made of wood.

Another burst of gibberish was directed towards the woman, who responded in kind and then the man raised his voice, "Be seen… in the…outside." He struggled with the words, as if he wasn't sure of there meaning, Leasin herself wasn't to certain what he meant by that, but she readied her spear, veiled and gave the signal to her spear sisters to move in. The maidens darted towards the strangers, and the boy held out his stick in a single hand, at least Leasin thought it was a stick until she saw him split a maiden's spear in two as if he held a metal blade.

Things seemed to move impossibly fast after that, the girl snatched a spear from the hands of another maiden and struck her in the stomach, causing the maiden to crumple to the ground, the boy grabbed the arm of the maiden in front of him and gave a hard pull that was accompanied with a sickening snap and a scream. A swift kick from the girl brought down a third maiden, as the boy knocked out still another spear sister with his stick. Within half a minute Leasin was the only one among her spear sisters still moving, but her spear tip was just inches from the boys ribs when he spun, knocked the spear from her hand, and struck her in the side of the head. Leasin could feel her being lifted off her feet as the boy's hand hit her, and still in the air her vision went dark.

----

Leasin woke up some time later, she didn't know how long she'd been unconscious but when she opened her eyes the sun was well into the sky.

"Eh…the feeling of…the face is…um…water, yes?" Leasin saw the man from the previous night kneeling off to her side, he was holding out a water skin for her. Leasin was surprised to find that she was unbound, and reluctantly accepted the water skin. When she did the man continued, "You are…to be wind…pass or sit. Unless you are…snake, then we…um…wrap you."

Leasin tried to puzzle out what he meant by this, when the woman who had been with him walked towards them and sat down on the other side of the Maiden.

"You kin be snake to us." The woman's speech was smoother, but just as confusing as the male's, "you eye?" At this she pointed towards where she had come from, and Leasin saw her spear sisters bound hand and foot. Not counting on her fellow Maidens to help her she eyed her two captors carefully, they didn't seem to be aggressive, but they hadn't seemed dangerous the previous night either.

The man seemed to take her lack of aggression as a good sign, "You be of…mind? Yes? Is happy." The man pointed at himself, "Lot," then pointing to the woman, "Reon," then he pointed towards the Maiden and waited, as if expecting something, possible her name, but she stubbornly refused to give them that much.

The man, Lot, seemed disappointed at her lack of naming, "Without…title? Face be water, you are of rock, so I speak you rock." Leasin was slightly taken aback; did he mean to call her rock? The woman's, Reon's, snickering seemed to suggest such. "Reon," the man looked at the woman then pointed to the Maiden, "Rock," then turning to Leasin he pointed at Reon, "Rock, Reon." Lot smiled, pleased at this exchange, but Leasin was stunned, it seemed he was willing to call her whatever he pleased, and Reon was just as willing to let it happen.

Still smiling, Reon looked at Leasin, "Rock, long to hills of back, we walk?"

Not being able to take much more, Leasin pulled her belt knife, which was quickly snatched from her hand by Lot, "We…forgive…one." Leasin scrambled backwards, getting away from the two, but the didn't pursue her. Lot bounced the knife in his hand, "You pass? Here, take kin." Tossing the knife at Leasin's feet, the two outlanders briefly exchanged words with each other, and then headed off into the waste.

It wasn't until they were out of sight that Leasin moved again, and that was only at the words of her spear sisters yelling for freedom.

----

"Well, that certainly seemed a waste of time." Reon glared at her brother.

"It was fun. How often do you actually get to talk with outlanders?" Lot's response only earned him an intensified glare, "I mean outlanders that aren't nobility or politicians, or something."

Reon continued to glare at lot for half a minute before a thoughtful look crossed her features, "Can they still be called outlanders if we are the ones that are from elsewhere?"

"Not sure. It doesn't matter anyway. No I think our problem is that our words are getting garbled in translation. I doubt any of those women understood what we were saying, that last one looked confused the entire time."

"Unfortunately we aren't going to get any better, especially if they continue to refuse talking to us. Though, my doubts that calling the one woman Rock helped any." Reon laughed lightly at the memory, "I think she wanted to throttle you for that."

"Heh. I probably deserved it." Lot started searching his pack for something, "How far do think this 'Spine of the World' is?" Pulling out a parchment Lot looked at it for a short while, "You know, a map is a lot more useful when the terrain has landmarks you can reference."

Reon chuckled and took the map, "I've no doubt about that." Tracing some imaginary path along the map she continued, "I'd say we're two or three days from the end of the desert, five at the most." With that she put the map in her own pack.

"Think the westerners will be friendlier then these desert folk?"

Reon became thoughtful once more, "I can't really imagine them being any less hospitable…"

A/N: anything that is underlined will represent a different language, depending on who is talking and when. For the purpose of this story, I'll call what Lot and Reon speak Avig, and what everyone else speaks is Common.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: anything that is underlined is being spoken in a foriegn language.

* * *

In the White Tower of Tar Valon, a woman was sleeping and having dreams, as the night went on one dream stood out clearly in her mind; the woman was standing in an open field, empty for as far as the eye could see, but in it a sword was driven point down in the ground. Even though half the blade appeared to be underground, the visible part of the sword still reached up to her shoulder; as the woman approached the sword, she could begin to make out a young man balancing above the sword with a single hand, occasionally switching hands, or sometimes balancing with just a foot on the sword. Getting a clearer view of the young man, she saw that patches of skin seemed to be transparent, allowing her to see through him; She knew that the young man could not be approached as others, fear and intimidation had no effect, nor did displays of power and wealth impress him. Below the man sat a woman, who was surrounded by what looked to be a circle ringed by strange markings. The young woman seated upon the ground radiated power, both she and the man did, they represented something, but the dreamer did not know what. The pair both suddenly looked at the dreamer and began to sing, the tune was nothing she'd ever heard before and the words seemed strange though she could hear them well. Before she could ask them the meaning though, the dream ended, and the Amyrlin Seat awoke. While she did not know what the dream meant, she did know that something was coming.

* * *

Child of the Light Bordin knew he had a problem, and he knew that it had something to do with the two people in front of him. The two people that didn't seem to understand a word he was saying, and unfortunately, he didn't understand what they were saying either. 

Bordin's companions seemed to feel that there was no problem, "I say we rough them up a bit and confiscate their things for the cause of the Light."

"They're probably mad anyway, so they don't really need all those things." As his fellow Children of the Light continued to discuss they plan, Bordin kept an eye on the two in question. The tall redhead was pretty in a way, not beautiful, but pretty, even if she was dressed in rather mannish attire; the bored look on her face didn't really seem to improve her features, but he felt like he might like to get to know her better, if only because he got the feeling she might just stick a knife between his ribs.

The male though, he seemed younger then the woman, but it was hard to place an age to him, not like the agelessness of the Tar Valon witches, but it was rather that something from inside seemed to be giving him youth. Of middling height and dark hair he seemed to be eager to see everything even if he was confused.

The woman turned to the man, Can you tell what they're saying?

I think that they're either planning on beating and robbing us, or they want to feed our chicken to a cow.

That doesn't make any sense; we don't have anything worth any value.

The boy sighed, They don't know that. And how does feeding a cow a chicken make any more sense?

The woman shrugged, I don't know, but they don't seem like bandits. They seem more like those robed men that go one about holy this and holy that and want you to read their texts on what you shouldn't do.

By this time Bordin knew that they weren't mad, or at least they could understand each other. Of course around this time Bordin's companions had also reached their decision.

"Right, we'll test them." One of the mean moved his horse in front of the two strangers, to impress them possibly, as well as take the height advantage, "Do you walk in the Light?"

The two looked at each other in confusion, this time the male spoke first, Did you understand what he just said?

I think he asked if we walk in the light.

What does that mean?

I don't know.

The boy stepped forward and cleared his throat, "We go in day…Night…bad travel?" There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to comprehend what had just been said. Bordin's fellow Children of the Light turned to each other, nodded and each drew their swords. The woman continued to look bored by this, and the boy looked disappointed as he dropped his pack and pulled out what looked like a wooden sword.

* * *

The Amyrlin Seat was in her chambers, having already summoned her Keeper. The Keeper for her part hurried as quickly as she could, given the urgency of the summons. When she entered the Amyrlin's chambers, she saw the mother, staring pensively into nothing. 

"You summoned me, mother?"

The owner of the chamber turned to stare at the Keeper as if she were an intruder, after a long moment though, she spoke, "I had a dream."

The Keeper knew better then to reply at this moment, but she did want to tell the Amyrlin that sometimes dreams were just dreams. She hoped that she had been able to keep the feeling off her face.

The Amyrlin continued, "It was a true dream. I'm not sure what it means completely, but I do know that something is coming. Something new, unprecedented, and possibly dangerous."

The Keeper was a little startled, it sounded as if the Amyrlin was worried, but the Tower survived, and would continue to survive no matter what. "Is there Something you want me to do?"

The Mother paused for a second, "Yes. Yes, I want all reports of any unusual activity, especially along the borders. I'd rather not be caught off guard by this. I don't care if it seems like a small matter, or minor details, anything out of the norm I want on my desk."

"As you wish, Mother." With that the Keeper bowed out of the room. Thinking over the conversation, it sounded as if the Amyrlin felt there might be a threat to the Tower, but not even the Asha'Man in their Black Tower were a danger to the Aes Sedai and the White Tower. So what could the Amyrlin believe was so dangerous?

* * *

Bordin was on his back, dazed, confused, and hurting. He knew it was the boy's fault, and that he did something, possibly with the Power, but it was so sudden. One second the boy was standing there holding his wooden stick, the next Bordin was on his back, hurting and dazed. 

It was a good try, but you should pick your battles more wisely next time. Bordin looked to the source of the incoherent babble and found the young man standing above him. Let me try this again the boy cleared his throat, "Next choose…more wise?"

With that he used his stick to pick up his pack, and walk off, his traveling companion following behind, and Bordin closed his eyes and waited for the pain to leave his body.


	4. Chapter 4

"Peace be on you, travelers. Do you know the song?" The man who asked wore brightly colored clothing, as did the other people and carts in his traveling party.

Lot and Reon turned glanced at each other, their command of the language was getting better with every encounter, but they were still unsure of their understanding. Finally Lot stepped forward, "We know many song?"

Though slightly confused the Seeker smiled gently, "Then perhaps you'd like to join us and share." Gesturing to their campfires, the old Tinker lead the way for the two travelers, even if the seemed hesitant.

Should we take up their invitation? Reon asked.

They seem friendly enough, and they're the first people that didn't try and attack us. I say we at least be kind.

Remember the story of Nalis and the Sisters of Kindness? I'd rather not end up something's lunch or some such.

Lot didn't reply to his sister, instead he turned to the Tinker, "Thanks to you, for welcoming."

--

It had been 20 years since Tarmon Gai'don, 20 years of struggling, 20 years of rebuilding, and 20 years of changes. Rand al'Thor had indeed broken the world, but not in a way that anybody had expected. He didn't break the physical, but the ephemeral. He broke ideas, and traditions, ways of thinking that had been around for thousands of years. And while some places thrived under the breaking of traditions, others struggled for all their worth.

Egwene al'Vere was reluctant to admit that the White Tower was, indeed, one of those institutions that was struggling. Aes Sedai were stepped in tradition and lore, and as such change came hard. The Amyrlin found that working with a united tower was just as hard as a divided one, and while convincing the Hall that it needed to tie the Kin to the Tower was relatively easy, though the how was still debatable, the Deal with the Sea Folk was almost an uproar.

Egwene still wished to have all women who could channel tied to the White Tower—the Sea Folk were reluctant to do so, and the Aiel wanted nothing to do with Aes Sedai—but the Last Battle changed some ideas very radically.

With a sigh Egwene looked from her study into the courtyard and spotted a few novices, in traditional white, but only two out of three were dresses. After the Last Battle, some men rebuked the idea of becoming Asha'Man and instead came to the White Tower, with Saiden cleansed they honestly couldn't deny them. This made Egwene think that perhaps all who could channel would be tied to the White Tower.

Of course there is two sides to every coin, just as some men chose to take the path of Aes Sedai, some women felt they were more suited for the path of the Asha'Man. That particular thought tended to give the Amrylin fits. There were days when Egwene wanted to curse Rand al'Thor and his Breaking, but there was nothing to be done, all she could do was try to continue on as Aes Sedai had always done.

--

The M'Hael observed the courtyard; some soldiers were in there training for the Power, others in the weapon of their choice, and still others in the use of fist and foot. The M'Hael idly wondered about doing away with the last two sets of training, but like so many times before decided against it, Asha'Man should be fit, and be able to fight even without the use of the Power.

Logain Albar, M'Hael of the Black Tower, allowed himself a rare smile. Though much younger then it's counterpart, The White Tower, the Asha'Man were much better at adapting to the new order. Whether this had to do with the military-like organization of the Black Tower or the adaptability of the individuals was unclear, but they were doing much better then the Aes Sedai who, from what he could recall of his time in the White Tower, were much like a collection of hermits.

While in his contemplation a young Dedicated came up to him, most likely under orders as even the full Asha'Man were reluctant to approach the M'Hael. Glancing at the newcomer, Logain saw that it was one of the surprises of the Breaking, a female Dedicated, and while possibly still quite a way away from becoming a full Asha'Man, allowed himself to wonder what discipline she might choose.

With a salute she stopped before Logain, who returned a salute in kind, before reporting, "Lorekeeper Daniv requests your presence in his study, concerning a matter of interest, sir."

Logain nodded, if Daniv thought it was important enough to bring to his attention immediately, then it was most certainly 'of interest,' "Report to him that I'll be with him shortly." The Dedicated saluted once more and turned to leave, "A moment, if you will." The woman stopped.

Logain inspected the young woman, something about her seemed familiar, "Where are you from?"

The Dedicated blinked, "I'm from Baerlon, in Andor, sir."

The place didn't register to Logain, "And what is your name?"

"Farshaw, sir. Kaira Farshaw."

Logain said nothing for a moment, seeming to recall something, before speaking again, "Thank you Dedicated Farshaw. I look forward to seeing your advancement, now report to Daniv." As the young woman walked away, and seemed to relax as she got further from the M'Hael, Logain allowed himself another small smile.

* * *

A/N: Let me know if there are any misspellings and such. All comments/suggestions/flames/etc. are welcomed and encouraged. 


	5. Chapter 5

Daniv's study was much like one you would expect to belong to a person with the title of Lorekeeper. Many books, scrolls, and papers, all thrown about haphazardly; books opened to certain pages, scrolls half unrolled, and piles and piles of papers. Logain reflected on the title, Lorekeeper, head of the Observers, one of the disciplines of the Asha'Man. The Observers regarded themselves as disseminators of information, and as such the Lorekeeper was probably one of the most knowledgeable people in the whole of the Black Tower.

Logain watched as Daniv flitted about like a bird picking at random papers, books, and notes. If the study suited the position of Lorekeeper, the man himself did not; Daniv was relatively young-looking, his light hair showed no signs of graying or thinning, and his scraggly attempt at a beard seemed reminiscent of a boy on the verge of manhood trying to grow a beard. Of course one learns quickly that appearances are deceiving, and for all of Daniv's ill fitting looks, he excelled as Lorekeeper.

"Ah, thank you for coming, sir. I've received a rather interesting report from a contact in the east, near the Spine."

Logain merely nodded, Daniv tended to take a while to get to his point.

"Ah yes, here it is." It being a small piece of paper, covered with miniscule writing, "Almost six days ago, there was a pair of travelers."

"Nothing odd in that, now that the Waste is at least partially open."

"True, but these travelers were heading west."

Logain considered this, "Aiel then?"

"No sir, from what I can gather, they were speaking a different sort of language, one that my contact couldn't understand at all."

"So they came from the east, from beyond the Waste?"

"I believe so. But more then that, upon leaving the small town, they encountered three Children of the Light. On horseback."

"The significance of that eludes me, Daniv. Please get to your point."

"Sorry, sir. My contact observed the encounter, and said that in the blink of an eye, the three were suddenly flat on their backs, a good five paces away from their horses."

"One of them channeled, then. Perhaps they came to learn?"

Daniv seemed to hesitate, "If I may, sir?" at Logain's nod he continued, "My contact is very reliable, and not prone to exaggeration. If the event happened as written, it could not have been channeling, as it had to have happened with such speed as to have not even alerting the horses. This had nothing to do with the Power."

Logain frowned, this could mean many things, but it did not mean trouble yet. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have much to reflect on." Logain moved to leave before Daniv interrupted him.

"There is one more thing: My contact has not the ability to channel, and therefore not the ability to sense the ability to channel in others."

Logain raised an eyebrow and waited for Daniv to continue.

"But, my contact wrote that she felt something, a sense of power, coming from them. If my contact sensed power in them, it could not have been the One Power."

--

For two weeks Lot and Reon traveled with the Tinkers, and for two weeks, they had been improving on their language skills. Lot was usually in the middle of a conversation, muddling his way through, while Reon silently listened to everything. One day the Seeker asked them to join them, to live as they did in the Way of the Leaf. Reon was concerned that this life style would attract her brother, as it was very peaceful, but she'd wait for her brother's response.

Lot stared up at the sky, smiling gently, as if a child had asked and he didn't want to break the poor thing's heart. "You ask to give away…eh… attacking, no? So I say, this I can do not. I go home maybe late, yes? And, there I do things. I mind, that Leaf way, good for you, you peoples, but not for me and me people. Way of leaf is for no nation, can nation run danger? Where go? Sometimes attacking is needful. Can no run if enclosed. I say, Thanks to you, but is no good." Reon smiled at Lot's meaning, if not his words, and when asked if she would give up the path of violence, stood beside he brother.

That night, both Lot and Reon left the Tinkers behind, with good intentions, if not fond farewells. Lot left behind his strange curved stick, with a note, that should anyone ever learn how to read their language, said "This is but a stick, that I used it for violence does not change its nature, only a man can make a simple stick kill, and so only a man should be blamed, weapons are only weapons in the hands of man." Years later, when the note could be translated and read with clear meaning, many would agree that it was very deep and thoughtful, for now, it was some strange squiggly lines that those strange foreigners wrote in.

--

Egwene al'Vere was dreaming, but whether or not they were true dreams did not matter, as she suddenly heard a voice she had not expected to hear.

"I see you Egwene al'Vere of the White Tower." The woman before the Amyrlin seat was a Wise One, one who she knew very well.

"I see you Amys. It is good to see you are well." Egwene allowed herself the briefest of smiles, which the Wise Ones returned. "Is something the matter?"

Amys frowned slightly, "I'm not sure…something…strange is headed in your direction I believe. They passed through the Three-Fold land weeks ago, but I do not know where they would go."

"What do you mean? Is it something dangerous? And what do you mean they?"

"A pair of travelers, who several Maidens and other spear fighters encountered and were defeated by. They are dangerous, but I do not know if they are a threat."

Egwene frowned slightly; this may be what her dream was warning her about. "I thank you for the caution. It is a surprise to see you so suddenly." Egwene left the unasked question hanging in the air.

"You know that we Wise Ones avoid Aes Sedai, but I felt that I should at least warn one who was my apprentice, and a friend." With that Amys disappeared and Egwene was left to ponder what was to come.

* * *

A/N: Let me know if there are any misspellings and such. All comments/suggestions/flames/etc. are welcomed and encouraged. Yes the story of Nalis was editted out, I felt that it didn't really have a place in the story itself. Let me know if you'd like it back though. 


	6. Chapter 6

Logain sat in his study, pondering over recent events. He couldn't say that they were worrying exactly, but they did need close attention; even 20 years after Rand's Breaking, 20 years after the defeat of the Shadow at Shayol Ghul—however temporary it may be, Logain had his doubts about truly defeating the Dark One—anything which was unknown could still be considered a danger.

The question remained though, after all this time, why had travelers decided to now come out of the east? Not even during Tarmon Gai'don had anyone come from beyond the Waste, and even the aiel did not go much farther then the trade houses of Shara. So, was this a scout? Come to see how the world had changed since the first Breaking? Or perhaps to see how easily the lands west of the Spine of the World could be taken?

A knock on the studies door shook Logain out of his introspective mood, as he called out, "Come in." The door opened hesitantly, this was the M'Hael's study after all, and with equal hesitation a young woman stepped inside. Logain's lips quirked into a near smile for an instant, "Dedicated Farshaw," The young woman saluted, "Tell me, have you given any thought to which discipline you would choose to follow when you become a full Asha'Man?"

The question seemed to catch the young woman off guard, she blinked and gaped for a second before coming to her senses, "Well, I had yet to think about it, sir. It is still years away…" Kaira sputtered into silence before Logain's somber countenance.

Kaira was only slightly relieved when Logain merely nodded, "Fair enough, I suppose, though you should start giving it some thought. As it is, you will eventually have to leave the Black Tower, no matter which discipline you choose, and while I'm sure you've been on a recruiting party or two, I want you to go on a different type of mission." Kaira's jaw dropped, it wasn't unheard of for Dedicated to go on missions, but it was rare enough, "You'll be going with Arbiter Chorn and Observer Josev. They'll tell you everything you'll need to know. You'll find them at the Traveling grounds. Dismissed." Kaira seemed to move without thinking, saluting and exiting the study with a rather faraway look on her face. She was halfway to the Traveling grounds when it occurred to her, that while she would be going on a mission given by the M'Hael himself, she'd also be under the close eye of _**two**_ full Asha'Man.

--

Egwene was worried, or at the very least uncertain, and that was close enough for her. Two people who were apparently dangerous, enough to have warranted a personal warning from Wise Ones, were somewhere in her lands, as she considered all of the lands between the Spine and the Ocean to be hers even if she did not rule them.

Somewhere there were two people, people who could cross the Waste, and soundly defeat any and all _algai'd'siswai_ who crossed their path, no easy task even for other aiel, and yet she knew them not. They didn't present themselves before any rulers, lords, or even mayors. They apparently come and go like the wind, hardly noticeable until they did something spectacular, and then they'd just leave as if it didn't matter in the slightest.

Egwene could only hope to find some inkling of who they were, what they wanted, or even where they seemed to be going. Though she knew that last one somewhat, west was pretty much the only constant direction they went, but they didn't seem to be going anywhere besides just west.

A knock came at the door of the Amyrlin's study, "Come in Faolain." Egwene called out with a sigh, as the named woman entered.

"Mother." The Keeper of the Chronicles replied, with the exact amount of deference required.

Egwene tried to hold in a sigh, "Faolain, you have been my Keeper for almost 20 years, and I have told you time and again, that you do have permission to enter without having to knock first."

The other woman merely nodded, and replied with a simple, "As you say, Mother."

Egwene regarded the other woman for a moment, "Faolain? Do you know why I chose you as my Keeper? We both know that we will never become friends, at best we will be allies, or at least non-hostile towards each other. But has it never occurred to you to ask 'why you?'"

Faolain hesitated, "I've wondered several times, Mother. But it doesn't matter, I am Aes Sedai, I serve the White Tower, and the Amyrlin Seat. That's all I need to know."

Egwene gave the former brown the briefest of smiles, "And that is exactly why I chose you. You serve the White Tower and the Amyrlin Seat, but not Egwene al'Vere." She paused, almost about to say something, but seemed to think better of it, "But there is a reason you've come to my study besides wool gathering, is there something I should know?"

Faolain pulled a scrap of parchment from within her sleeve, "It's about the Wanderers," Egwene raised an eyebrow at the name, "The name seemed appropriate, but we think we've located them, or at least their latest resting place."

Egwene looked over the scrap, "Who is closest?"

Faolain hesitated on the answer, "Cayen and her Warder. Cayen is… of the Red. Still young, and somewhat temperamental, and very zealous…"

Egwene sighed, "I suppose it's too late to tell her to avoid these… Wanderers?"

"I believe that the Reds have already sent her a message to meet these two, and quite possibly bring them here."

Egwene remained silent for some time, then spoke quietly, "I don't see this ending well…"

--

Cayen wasn't very happy, she'd received word that she was supposed to go after two travelers, but she hadn't been given so much as a description, so their approximate location did little good if they managed to simply pass by her. Cayen's warder, Thedia, was also unhappy; though it was possible that it had more to do with her Aes Sedai's unhappiness then any feeling on her part.

Cayen entered the first inn that the town had to offer, leaving Thedia to take care of the arrangements as she looked over the inn's common room. Cayen scowled as she looked over the patrons, mostly men, and her eyes fell on a red head talking animatedly with a dark-haired young man. The red-haired woman was wearing trousers, of all things, which caused the Aes Sedai to scowl even further, as she didn't appreciate women in anything other then sensible dresses, never mind that Thedia wore trousers herself, of course Thedia was a Warder so that was okay…

Cayen's attention was brought back to the red-haired woman again, until something seemed to suddenly click in her mind. The red head could channel, and quite strongly at that, Cayen began to wonder how she missed it, but dismissed it as she approached the trouser clad woman, ignoring her male companion completely. Even if Cayen was being sent on a wild goose chase, she could still find candidates for the White Tower.

Sitting down at the table, Cayen stared at the other woman, "I want you to come with me."

The red head looked absolutely bewildered, and glanced at her companion, who looked equally off-balance at Cayen's insistence, then tried to regain some footing, "Who are you?"

Cayen lowered her voice, "My name is Cayen Sedai, and you are to come with me to the White Tower so you can learn to properly control your gift. You do know that you can channel?"

The other woman just seemed to become more confused at every word, "My brother and I, we go now, think. Good-bye." Both she and the man stood up, but Cayen grabbed the other woman's arm. The Aes Sedai barely noticed the movement, but the man was suddenly beside her, gripping her arm tightly.

The man turned Cayen so she could not ignore him, "We go now. Peace on all." He didn't seem upset, or angry, or scared, simply stating what was going to happen. Cayen wasn't sure about what to do next. Obvious displays of the Power were not things to take lightly, and would scare the other patrons…

Thedia had seen what happened and was about to intervene, pulling her sword free, when the dark-haired man shot a stream of gibberish at the red head, "I'll take care of the sword barer, you take this one."

The other patrons had already started to move out of the way, as the man turned to face Thedia. What happened next Cayen couldn't quite describe it, the boy was in front of her one moment, then in front of Thedia, hand in her gut, the next, without seeming to have crossed the intervening space. Cayen could feel the Warder's surprise and pain as she crumpled to the ground, and Cayen was about to retaliate when she felt a blow from the red head and everything went dark.

Cayen next woke up in a room, with Thedia watching over her. Rubbing her head gently, the Aes Sedai looked over to her Warder who seemed to be equally pained. The Warder grimaced as she spoke, "Well, Cayen, I think we found the travelers…"

* * *

A/N: Let me know if there are any misspellings and such. All comments/suggestions/flames/etc. are welcomed and encouraged. 


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